Should Pagans Be Vegetarian?

Should Pagans be vegetarian? It’s a question that comes up with some regularity in Pagan circles, and opinions vary widely, as they do among Pagans on virtually anything.

Some look back with fondness on the habits of our Celtic and Germanic predecessors, for whom serious feasting always included beer or mead, rowdy song and dance, and plenty of meat (on the bone, with knives being the only utensil likely to be employed from time to time). Others are more drawn to gentler ways of living, and would prefer not to harm any living thing.

Wiccans and many other Pagans honor the spirit of the Wiccan Rede: an it harm none, do what you will. And few of us would limit “none” to mean “no member of the species Homo sapiens“; most of us are firmly devoted to the idea that all beings, not just humans, are alive with spirit and are more like us than unlike us. Thus, for those who follow the Rede, the question is whether killing animals for food can be reconciled with our core ethical principles at all, or under what circumstances.

Truth be told, I have some sympathy with several different perspectives on the issue. I do believe in a life that seeks to avoid harm to myself and others, and animals are certainly included in that (as are plants as well). I think the fact that the slaughter happens “invisibly”, far away behind the pristine scenes of the supermarket counter, makes it easy for many people to eat meat who could not, with a clear heart, do the necessary killing themselves. As Pagans (or as ethical persons of any persuasion), it seems we are obliged to be informed about the true ramifications of our choices. When I lived in England twenty years ago, the local butcher shop had carcasses hanging on hooks out front, unskinned. I think they made more vegetarians among the university students there than they made customers. There was, at least, a kind of honesty to that – something that might do suburban meat consumers in the US some good.

And, if one somehow gets past the gruesomeness of killing animals, there remain serious ecological and economic issues. The reliance on animals for food is extraordinarily wasteful and damaging to the planet. It takes something like 10 times the resources to produce a pound of meat than it does to produce a pound of grain or vegetables. Most of the grain farmed today goes to feed animals for slaughter, not to feed people directly. When you start to contemplate the wastefulness of this – not just the land, but the water, the fossil fuels used to run the operations, and the pollution produced – it becomes hard to see meat eating as a wise and responsible choice. Most Pagans claim to be quite concerned about what we are doing to the Earth, whom we regard as mother and goddess. We buy carbon credits, hybrid cars, reuse our shopping bags, compost our kitchen waste, and so on. These are all important steps, but if you work the numbers, eating meat undoes all the good we achieve with these Earth-friendly practices.

On the other hand, I find myself out of step with the hard-core animal rights culture. For me, one of the lessons of the Pagan faith is that death is a natural part of life, and that we are all connected in an ecological and spiritual web, whose many strands include creatures becoming food for other creatures. I don’t believe that what the coyote does to the rabbit is immoral. I don’t believe animals (or people, for that matter) have some sort of abstract “right” to remove themselves from nature’s great system of life and death, which is sometimes violent. For me, rights are a legal concept created to solve certain problems between humans living in competitive societies; they are not some great underlying moral directive.

Instead, I find myself more in sympathy with indigenous cultures around the world, whose people subsist mostly on plant foods, but who supplement their diet with meat from hunting. When only rudimentary technology is used, a human hunter becomes something like a coyote after a rabbit. Such cultures live in close enough contact with the plants and animals they use for food that they respect them and know the spirit that lives in them. It is very different from the callous, numb consumerism that dictates eating habits in developed countries.

If I lived in the pre-industrial world of the Pagans of long ago, I might be inclined to eat meat from a hunt, on a fest day, with the spirit of both the hunter and the prey animal very much alive in the moment of the act, and honored.

But I don’t. I live in a world where meat doesn’t come from a contest between predator and prey that honors the spirit and prowess of both creatures. I live in a world where meat comes from breeding animals and subjecting them to lives of suffering, for no other reason than to serve the casual gluttony of a civilization that has lost its sense of connection with all other living things, and lost its respect for the Earth that is the source of all life.

So, should Pagans be vegetarian? I do believe it is a personal choice. My way of looking at it is not the only valid one. We can all live better lives than we do, in some area or another, and I don’t judge the priorities of others in that regard. I will say, however, that if being Pagan has anything at all to do with honoring the spirit in other living things and honoring the sacredness of the Earth, then eating meat is not something Pagans can simply take for granted, as followers of so many other traditions do. It should be a point of concern and reflection for each of us.

35 comments

I don’t think so. Eating anything is eating an extension of the earth. so in my eyes we are just eating plants in an animal form (that tastes better). also there are nutreants that we can only get from aminals. so i think we were ment to eat meat naturaly and mabey it gets us closer to the earth. this is not a fool proof argument but i just dont think that the gods would have given us the option if we could not take it.

You can get all the nutrients you need from plants, and it’s healthier than eating meat. Just do a little research into vegetarian and vegan nutrition. It’s unnecessary to use animals, considering that we can use plants and it doesn’t harm anyone.

I belive that if eating an animal is morale wrong because it is living then should we not say that eating a plant is wrong because it is living and so there is nothing we can eat that was not once living therefor we should be able to eat both meat and or vegetables because we have been given the option to eat both as for the whole thing about crops being used for feeding animals to be slaughterd the problem is not that we shouldn’t ve eating the animal’s it is in my opinion that too many people are eating the animals because there are too many people in the world and not enough space for crops to be grown and animal’s to be raised.

Nutrients – no. Read up on the nutrition of a vegetarian diet; you can get everything you need without eating meat, and millions of people do.

As to eating animals being a natural option for humans, I completely agree, and said so in my post. The question I addressed is whether it is a responsible, wise, and ethical option, given the current nature of the meat industry and the state of the planet.

With all the diversity within the Pagan Community, from tradition to tradition and from person to person, I don’t see how anyone could ever argue that Pagans (in the general sense) should do anything. An argument may be made within specific traditions (maybe), but not as a universal statement.

For myself, I used to be vegetarian as a teen which blossomed into becoming vegan. At the time I chose my eating habits and style based on the protection of animals and the idea of ingesting the energy that is carried from how the animals were slaughtered at the time. Now, though I am a meat eater and it evolved that way in part to my personal beliefs in the cycle of things but I haven’t held returning to eating meat as a part of my daily spirituality. As, sadly I hadn’t given much thought to my food choices unless it was a special occasion.

Thanks, Laura. I know a lot of Pagans similar to yourself, in that it eating meat is something that comes up in our consciousness differently at different times, and we continue to sort it out as we grow. Blessings, Tom

You make some very good points but I think you left out one of the real benefits of being vegetarian, or at least eating less meat, and that’s cost to the consumer. Many of us could probably use a little extra cash for altar supplies. I made some of those comments here:

Thank you so much for writing this post! I’ve been a Pagan for some years and just recently decided to become vegetarian, not because I was previously against the idea, but because I had never previously considered it. When a friend asked me if I were vegetarian given the Rede, I was shocked. I think the point made in this and many of your posts are very necessary catalysts. That being said I completely agree with what you’ve said. While I personally believe that humans are not necessarily meant to eat meat, regardless I think that living in the 21st century we have to reevaluate certain tendencies, as well as pagan standpoints, as unfortunately most of us live in a very unnatural desensitized modern world. For me the biggest change was not the diet but a method of thinking. It’s so easy to get distracted from what’s important, and consistently choosing my beliefs every time I sit to eat has impacted my life more than I expected. Furthermore, respecting meat as an animal life made me realize how I had been conditioned to ignore the fact that it was in fact once life.

And in response to a previous post, while the pagan community is neither necessarily united nor homogenous in thought, I don’t see that as a reason not to strive for unity. Furthermore, given our similar concern and connection to the Earth, I think this is a very apropos topic for all pagans.

Thanks, Angelina – I think you touched on something very import here, which is our habits of thought. If we really want to live our beliefs, we have to constantly be revisiting the things we take for granted, and considering change. Aristotle (who was a Pagan, after all), said that it is our habits, not our professed beliefs, that create our character.

Thanks for visiting. It is possible to eliminate meat, even for a person with blood sugar issues. My sister is hypoglycemic, and although she does eat some meat she does just fine with vegetarian meals too. The important thing, from what I understand of it, is to familiarize yourself with the glycemic index or glycemic load of the foods you use. The main problem foods are highly processed carbs (white bread, white rice, white pasta), as well as potatoes and things with refined sugar. Move toward things with a lot of fiber (vegetables, beans and other pulses, and whole grains such as whole wheat and brown rice).

I think the key is to take it slow and experiment until you find the right foods for you.

Hello StarWeaver and Bright Blessings,
Wow! I just read parts of your article, sorry, I’ll have to read it in parts because of my tired eyes, but I did read much of it and I found it to be very eloquent and interesting indeed. I personally am a devout vegetarian of more than 16 years and I’m very happy and grateful that I made this important conscious decision and choice! I’m in the process of searching for an online community, forum, or message board or group where vegetarian Pagans and Wiccans come together to connect, interact, and meet new friends and upon this search, I found your interesting article. If you know or hear of anything like what I’ve described that I’m looking for, please feel free to contact me. Thank you. I appreciate it very much. I’ve met a few Native Americans who are devout vegetarian and that surprised me, but then I read Rita Laws, Ph.D.’s article about the history of Native Americans and vegetarianism and it changed my point of view completely! Please click on this link to read the article: http://www.ivu.org/history/native_americans.html

I’m a creative passionate writer and I could easily get carried away here sharing and writing my thoughts, but my main interest here is to commend your interesting eloquent article and express my gratitude for the innovative thoughts and ideas. Although I wasn’t raised Pagan or Wiccan, I am a very Spiritually-minded person and I have a very deeply strong connection with Mother Earth and Mother Nature. I am a real animal lover and I consider all animals to be my dear sweet beloved babies, my children! You can read more about me at myspace page. Thank you again.

Thank you for this insightful post, and I agree completely with the sentiment that we must give thought to our food and where and how it is produced, for the sake of both our own health and the health of our earth.

I’m a pagan and was a vegetarian for about eight years, until about three months ago. I’m also a professional cyclist, and finding nutritious food whilst travelling has always been a challenge, especially on the Continent. I found myself making ridiculous decisions. For example, if I am looking at a menu where the only vegetarian choice is egg based, should I choose it knowing that they are probably not free-range eggs? If there is venison or wild game on the menu, wouldn’t that choice be more in line with my beliefs of causing minimal suffering and choosing a natural path? Or should I just choose the salad, and drop from the back of the race the next day?

I tried a vegan lifestyle for a while as well, but again there were so many paradoxes. I have a down sleeping bag that I bought as a teenager some 15 years ago, and it is still going strong, and is one of the best pieces of equipment I’ve ever bought. Should I throw it away and buy a synthetic one? How does that help anyone? What about my mother’s cherished leather coat that was hand made in 1970 and fits me perfectly? Should I get rid of that too? And my Merino base layers – one vest will last years, but a synthetic version is smelly and unwearable after one season. Which choice is best for me, for the animals, for the planet as a whole?

In the end I made a truce with myself and decided that I would no longer try to live by rigid rules, but to make decisions that make sense, and to give careful thought to what I buy and eat on a daily basis. Those who are able to choose a vegetarian or vegan path and happily reconcile themsleves with it have my utmost respect. We are part of a natural world, but we are also part of a modern world. Trying to reconcile the two is a challenge that every pagan faces, in their own way, every day.

Hi
I just bacame wiccan about 3 yras ago, and last year I made the conscious decision to become vegetarian.
It started out for me because I had finished my 5 years of being cured from my cancer.
I did thins in steps, first I quit smoking, than I waited about 2 years and knew that there had to be a way I could have a lesser chance of my cancer not coming back, not to mention, my whole life I never really like meat much, it just did not taste right, most of the time I just thought of it as just something to eat, that was included in meals.
16 years ago I wanted to be a vegetarian, but could never find any recipes to make meatles, chickless, and fishless meals.
Anyway a year ago I wanted to start

Its important to understand that just because something is natural, it doesnt mean that its right or good for us to do.

Smoking pot is natural because it comes from the earth but pot can be a dangerous and addictive drug and can cause great harm to the lungs and body if used for an extensive period of time.

Having casual sex is also natural-Monogamy isnt but for me I couldnt even think about having sex with strangers, I am a one person at a time kind of guy, I need love and connection and intimacy and eventually marriage so natural or not, its wrong for me.

Eating meat might be natural but we have a higher reasoning that say a cheetah which doesnt know any better or have another choice.

The Rede translates to-Live the best life you can while doing as little harm as possible to all life. Living lightly on the land, recycling, not driving a car and car pooling or riding the bus, a bike, etc, cleaning up litter when i am walking down the street and being Vegan are all ways that I strive to live in harmony and balance with the Earth.

Can you be Wiccan and eat meat? Sure, but I dont think the person is a good Wiccan, they sure arent following the rede or thinking about how their actions are affecting themselves or the earth or the animals that they are killing needlessly and I have been Vegan-raised in it by a Vegan Aunt and Father my whole life, there is only ONE item we need from animals and we can now get that in Pill form so we dont NEED anything from animals that nature hasnt provided in any other way….

You are welcome to email me directly if you wish to dicuss this issue more, I dont want to disrupt this person’s blog, hehe. 🙂

“Instead, I find myself more in sympathy with indigenous cultures around the world, whose people subsist mostly on plant foods, but who supplement their diet with meat from hunting.”

This isn’t an accurate portrayal of indigenous cultures. Most of them eat a lot of meat and supplement it with plant foods, not the other way around as is promoted by many vegetarian sources. Eating little meat in most societies is a sign that you are poor (in some it is a sign that you are affluent because you can afford to watch your nutrition).

i have been studying the craft for a few years now and personally am a meat eater, ive always felt awful when ive spoken to other pagans who do not eat meat, because ive always been so frightened that i would be harshly judged. After having two kidney transplants it is one of my requirements to eat a serving of meat every two days, however i do not only eat meat because of that reason, also, for me, it is the natural thing to do, i am conscious of the fact that the animal has made the ultimate sacrifice so that i may live, coming from an organic cattle farm, i am aware of how these animals are treated when they’re sent away from my farm, so in my daily thoughts and prayers i thank the creature that gave their life so that i may live.

The thing that I love so much about Green Witchcraft is that it’s not ritualistic like alot of other branches of Paganism and Wicca. If that’s your thing, then have at it, but it’s not mine. I was vegetarian for 11 years and vegan for 2 years before finding the Green Witch path, and it happily allowed me to keep my cruelty-free diet.
My goal in life is to cause as less harm as I can to all living beings, and in my opinion, it doesn’t only effect that one animal. Say you go hunting and shoot a deer… if that deer has a baby or is pregnant, that baby will likely die. I know that there are hunting seasons, but they’re not always followed.
And in the favctory farms, even if you drink milk… you’re supporting the torture of cows and the murder of calves, since the calves of the dairy cows go straight into crates where they can’t move to create veal.
Everything we do causes a ripple effect and if you’re someone who abides by the ”harm none” motto, how is it possible to still eat meat and harm none?
If you eat meat, you’re taking a life that is not yours to take.

I don’t judge people who eat meat, it’s usually the opposite, but that’s just my opinion. If you want to eat meat, go for it. But you then cannot say that you’re harming none.

Also, I’ve seen on here that people say that they’re away that the animal made a sacrifice.
No.. they didn’t. A sacrifice is something voluntary. An animal would never lay down its life voluntarily for you to get a meal.

I’m a vegan Pagan,and feel strongly about not harming the innocent. As others have pointed out,eating animals in prehistoric times is a long way away from the horrendous situation we have now. Billions of animals live and die in agony,all for something we don’t need,something that is destroying Mother Earth,the animals and people too. I’m a very self indulgent vegan,who loves cake and chocolate etc,also vegan burgers,sausages,pizzas etc. In fact,I used to love meat,but gave it up when I realised that it’s impossible to love animals,and eat them,I hadn’t really thought about it before. Fortunately,companies like Redwoods and Frys do some excellent mock meat products,so you really don’t have to eat plain tofu or live on raw food,veganism can be fun.

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I am a vegetarian who is planning on going vegan. I cannot get myself to eat meat when I know that it comes from a sentient being with a will to live. My father is a butcher, and I once remember seeing a pig get slaughtered when I was five years old. It is not pretty. Sentient beings have a will to live, and I feel it is my responsibility not to murder anything, directly or indirectly. Plants are also alive, but they are not sentient, and do not have the ability to feel pain. Non-human animals kill and eat other animals because they have to. Human beings do not need to eat meat or animal products, even though we are able to do so. Sure, there are some things that can be harder to get when you are a vegan, but it is worth it, in my opinion. Going vegan is way easier, more interesting and tasty than most people would think, at least that is my experience. 🙂

I agree with a lot of these points. I find myself often feeling very guilty when I eat meat! Especially chicken, which is one of the worst treated farm animals. To combat this I raise my own chickens for eggs and eventually meat,. I also try to avoid meat at least once a week (either stick to veg/ quorn meals or eat pole and line caught fish) and try my best to research the meat I am buying (minimum of red tractor quality etc).

However, raising your own food isn’t always an option for many and also free range and red tractor food can get expensive… so I think it is a slow process of changing peoples views (which in turn changes large companies and makes small holding/ backyard meat raising more normal)… as lovers of the earth this can fall into pagans hands; just to try and give people a push in the right direction. If you will eat meat (like myself) make sure to know where it came from, how it was treated and the affect its raising and death has had on the planet. Many people follow by example rather than lectures. If you’re veggie, fine, if you eat meat, fine; like the write says- it is all down to you. Just share knowledge of the sources of food and what we as part of the planet can do to help.